Review: Night Falls on Predicament Avenue by Jaime Jo Wright

Night Falls on Predicament Avenue by Jaime Jo Wright

Publication Date: April 9th 2024 by Bethany House Publishers

Pages: 368

Source: Publisher 

Rating: ★★★★

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Audible | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

Norah struggles to run the bed and breakfast on 322 Predicament Avenue, a dream of her sister Naomi’s, whose murder still haunts her, thirteen years later.  But that’s not the only murder to occur at the old farmhouse. True-crime podcaster, Sebastian Blaine shows up at the B & B to feature the murder of Isabelle Addington, a woman who was murdered over a hundred years earlier at 322 Predicament Avenue. Norah fears his podcast will drudge up her sister’s unsolved case and all the crippling memories with it. However, as details come to light, Norah realizes there are things she didn’t know, casting what she thought was true in doubt. With Sebastian’s help Norah digs deeper to find the truth.

Over a hundred years earlier in 1901, Effie and her sister Polly stumble upon a grisly scene taking place at 322 Predicament Avenue, and at first no one believes them. Soon after a Mr. Anderson seeks Effie out after hearing about the event and proclaims the murdered woman must be his wife, Isabelle Addington. They search for clues together, and it seems they are getting close to the truth as Effie and Polly narrowly escape harm.

Night Falls on Predicament Avenue was an engrossing mystery, but the pace was slow at first and took a bit to get into. From the start there was an atmospheric, spooky vibe and I wondered if the danger was from supernatural or real-life threats. You’ll have to read it to find out! There’s also a bit of romance for both Effie and Norah, but it wasn’t front and center. The story ramps up in suspense chapter by chapter and ends in an exciting and satisfying conclusion!

4 Stars

Book Description:

As the walls of the house at Predicament Avenue reveal their hidden truths, two women--generations apart--discover that fear and foreboding are no respecters of time.

In 1901, Effie James is committed to doing anything to save her younger sister, who witnessed a shocking murder, leaving her mute and in danger of the killer's retribution. Effie must prove what her sister saw, but when a British gentleman arrives, he disrupts Effie's quest with his attempts to locate his wife, Isabelle Addington, who was last seen at the supposed crime scene in the abandoned house at 322 Predicament Avenue. Just as Effie discovers what she seeks, she finds that the blood staining the walls will forever link her to a scandal she couldn't imagine, and to a woman whose secrets promise to curse any who would expose them.

A century later, Norah Richman grapples with social anxiety and grief as she runs her late great-aunt's bed-and-breakfast on Predicament Avenue. But Norah has little affection for the house and is committed only to carrying out her murdered sister's dreams until crime historian and podcaster Sebastian Blaine arrives to investigate the ghostly legacy of the house's claim to fame--the murder of Isabelle Addington. When a guest is found dead, the incident is linked to Isabelle's murder, and Norah and Sebastian must work together to uncover the century-old curse that has wrapped 322 Predicament Avenue in its clutches and threatens far more than death.

Author Bio:

Jaime Jo Wright (JaimeWrightBooks.com) is the author of ten novels, including Christy Award and Daphne du Maurier Award-winner The House on Foster Hill and Carol Award winner The Reckoning at Gossamer Pond. She's also a two-time Christy Award finalist, as well as the ECPA bestselling author of The Vanishing at Castle Moreau and two Publishers Weekly bestselling novellas. Jaime lives in Wisconsin with her family and felines.